Jaipur: The Jaipur Pink Panthers beat the Haryana Steelers 37-27 to extend their unbeaten streak to 10 matches, on Wednesday.
In a game defined by brilliant defending, the Jaipur Pink Panthers of Ankush (5 points), Sunil Kumar (4 points), and Reza Mirbagheri (4 points) were the real difference between the two teams. The Jaipur Pink Panthers remained unbeaten in their home leg.
Throughout the season these two teams had built their results on the backbone of a strong defence, and in the early part of the game, they leaned upon it, to keep the board ticking. Neither was too keen to gain their points on the raid, in the first half both secured a mere 5 points each in attack. In contrast, their defense, led by Ankush, won them 16 points.
The Jaipur Pink Panthers took charge in the later part of the first half and inflicted the first all-out of the game with three minutes left to take a 14-8 lead. The Steelers cut that lead back a bit, soon after, thanks to Naveen Kundu’s excellent defending to go into the breakdown by a mere four points.
Both teams continued to rely on the do-or-die raid, trusting their defence to get the points. Deshwal’s ability to get touch points at crucial moments put the Steelers in trouble and soon enough the Jaipur Pink Panthers inflicted a second all-out to take a massive 27-16 lead.
Deshwal’s resurgence continued into the second half and with it, the Jaipur Pink Panthers stretched their lead further. All the while their defence remained tight, and Ankush logged his fifth tackle point with two minutes left to play. The Jaipur Pink Panthers rounded their performance with a massive 10-point win to stay atop the table.
–IANS
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